The Court’s Oppressive Air
Symbol Analysis

When Josef is in or near the court, he frequently finds himself stifled by a hot, poorly-ventilated atmosphere. In fact, on his first visit to the legal offices, the air weakens him so much that he can no longer walk unassisted. Josef’s reaction to the air illustrates just how viscerally unnatural and uncomfortable the justice system is. The Law’s toxic hold over Josef’s mind is literalized by the miasma that pervades its offices.

The Court’s Oppressive Air Quotes in The Trial

The The Trial quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Court’s Oppressive Air. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

).
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Oxford University Press edition of The Trial published in 2009.

Chapter 3
Quotes

He felt as if he were seasick, as if he were on a ship in a heavy sea. It was as if the water were crashing against the wooden walls, as if a rushing sound came from the far end of the corridor, like water pouring over, as if the corridor were rocking to and fro and as if the people sitting on either side were going up and down. It made the calm of the young woman and the man who were helping him to the exit all the more incomprehensible.

I don’t know who the great lawyers are, and I presume you can’t get to them. I know of no case where it can be said for certain that they took part. They defend some people, but you can’t get them to do that through your own efforts, they only defend the ones they want to defend. But I assume a case they take on must have progressed beyond the lower court. It’s better not to think of them at all, otherwise you’ll find the consultations with the other lawyers, their advice and their assistance, extremely disgusting and useless. I’ve been through that myself, you feel like throwing everything up, taking to your bed, and ignoring everything.